Brothers
by ihonestlydontcareenoughtomakeu
Summary: "And find me a lacrosse player, because statistically speaking, someone on your team has gotta be on my team, right?" - Mason in 4x04
1. Chapter 1

1.

Ever since Mason could remember, he and Liam had been closer than brothers. They'd known each other since the beginning of sixth grade – back when they were short, scrawny little children. Unfortunately, Mason and Liam's first interaction was from an argument over a girl, which landed both of them doing time in detention.

_Mason remembered looking around the empty classroom. A young assistant coach sat at a desk in the front tapping away at his smart phone. _

_"__Why are we the only two in detention?" he asked skeptically. _

_"__Because you're the only two _stupid _enough to get in trouble on the first day of school," the assistant coach said. The man set his smart phone down, leaned forward in his seat, and peered at Mason. "Which leads me to be curious. Bruce Banner over here looks like the kind of kid I'll see in detention a lot." He flicked his head over to Liam but his eyes didn't leave Mason. "On the other hand, I've gotta know – why are you here?" he asked. Mason opened his mouth to speak._

_"__All I wanted was to sit next to Carly, but he wouldn't move!" Liam shouted, successfully cutting Mason off. Liam's eyebrows were knitted together and his eyes were set ablaze. Weren't blue eyes supposed to be calm and stuff? Mason wondered. Especially that shade of blue… bright, clear, and vibrant. Woah. Mason shook his head to clear his thoughts. He shouldn't be thinking so much about another guy's eyes. He hadn't heard anything Liam had said, but when he came to, Mason realized Liam was glaring right at him. _

_"__Dude, I was there first. Carly _asked_ me to sit next to her," Mason replied with a shrug. He didn't know why Liam was making a big deal of it. "Dude, she's my girlfriend! You can't sit next to her!" Liam yelled. "How was I supposed to know? We've been best friends since fourth grade and as far as I know, I don't need permission to sit next to my best friend!" Mason defended himself._

_"__What do you mean, how were you supposed to know?"_

_"__What do you mean, what do I mean? Carly doesn't tell me this kind of stuff. I didn't even know she had a boyfriend." A crunching sound caused the boys to look at the assistant coach. He'd opened a bag of chips. "Oh, don't mind me. Talk it out, guys. You're doing great."_

_Liam turned to Mason, heaving with anger. "Uh… you alright, man?" Mason asked. He looked at the assistant coach for help to no avail. Liam looked like a psycho, and if he swung his fists, Mason wanted to make sure he had backup. "Your name is Mason, right?" Liam asked. Mason nodded slowly. "She talked about you all the time, man. She really didn't say anything about me?" Liam asked. Liam's shoulders deflated at the other boy's silent stare. There was a slight break in Mason's heart when he looked at Liam, because he realized that Liam wasn't angry; he was trying not to cry._

_"__Hey. It's Liam, right?" Mason asked._

_"__So?"_

_"__Wanna play Grand Theft Auto after school?" Mason broke into a smile when Liam said, "Alright."_

Now they only fought with controllers in their hands.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey. What's up?" Scott asked. Scott watched his beta observationally; he was kind of worried that Liam was always scared of something. Maybe it was a mistake to bite Liam. Maybe Scott could have done something different to break the news to Liam about the bite. Liam stopped his pacing and stopped in front of Scott with frenzied eyes.

"Dude I – I can't do it! I keep having nightmares and daymares! Nothing is normal anymore – I can't do it anymore!" Liam's breath was ragged and panicked. He chewed on his fingernails anxiously. Scott placed his hands on either side of Liam's arms.

"Take a deep breath, okay? You're going to be alright. Whatever changes you're going through right now are totally normal. _Well_. Normal for us. I went through the same thing. I know how you must be feeling. Everything is weird and different and you're so much more aware of life. You can't even forget that you're a werewolf even for a second because you're constantly hearing things you shouldn't be able to and smelling _emotions_ off of people. Liam, if you ever need anything, you've got an entire pack to take care of you. As your alpha and friend, I'm here for you."

Liam stared into Scott's eyes, soaking in reassurance before nodding. "Can I just ask you one question? How did you tell Stiles that Peter bit you and how did he take it?" Scott smiled at the memory. "Stiles was more excited than I was, to be honest. He kept talking about werewolves and doing research on it. I'd get so mad at him because I didn't ask for this; I thought that all this was a fable. And as for how I told him? Stiles is my best friend. I knew I could trust him."

"So you just told him?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"Should I tell Mason?"

Scott didn't know what to say. "If you really want to," he answered, "But I think you should know that telling Mason will make his life more complicated." The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and Liam's hands immediately flew to his ears as he cringed under the loud sound. "I'm still not used to that." Scott patted Liam's arms. "I'm gonna meet Kira for class. See you at practice."

"Sure."


	3. Big News

3.

"Liam! What is your problem?" Coach shouted. "Get in the game! Be present!" Mason watched his friend from his seat at the bleachers and shook his head, lost in his own thoughts.

"Mason? Earth to Mason?" Kelly chuckled from beside him.

"Huh?"

Kelly laughed again. "Mason, you've been zoned out for like five minutes now! Have you even heard anything I've said?"

Mason gulped and tried to look sure of himself. "Yes! Of course! You were talking about the thing."

"Really? The _thing_? That's the best you can do? What thing?" Kelly asked teasingly with air quotes.

"You don't know about the thing? Have you been paying attention to yourself?"

Kelly put all teasing aside and let her gaze wander over to the field, where Scott was talking to Liam off to the side. "Why don't you just go talk to him so you can be all buddy-buddy again?"

"Talk to Liam? Nahhh. You wanna get out of here?" Mason asked. "Yeah. In a minute. Practice is over so you should at least say hi," Kelly insisted. She grabbed Mason's hand and lead him down the bleachers. It was pretty empty; hardly anybody watched practices except for a few girlfriends of the players. Liam was heading off to the locker room when he spotted Mason and Kelly.

"Hey," he said, stopping in front of them. His forehead was dripping with sweat, soaking the hair that fell onto his face. "Heyyyy," Mason trailed awkwardly. He had been (unsuccessfully) trying to give Liam the silent treatment. It didn't make sense, did it? What secret couldn't Liam trust Mason with? Mason was trustworthy. No, that wasn't it. It wasn't a trust issue. But something was definitely coming between their friendship.

"Hi!" Kelly beamed, "Great practice!"

"If you consider being yelled at for two hours a great practice, then thanks I guess?" Liam answered.

"Anyways, we're gonna go get burgers. Just wanted to say hi," Mason said, turning to leave. Kelly held onto Mason's arm to root him in place. "Wanna come with us?" she asked Liam quickly. Liam looked between Kelly's hopeful expression and Mason's annoyed one. "Yeah. Sure. Give me a second," he replied. He jogged off to the locker room to get changed.

As soon as Liam was out of earshot, Mason turned to Kelly. "Why did you ask him to come?"

"Because he's our friend. Well, technically yours, but he's my friend by association. Plus, he's pretty hot," Kelly said. Mason scoffed in disbelief and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever. You two go out. I'm going home," he said.

"Mason! Wait!" Kelly called. Mason ignored her and continued walking to the front of the school where he could catch a bus. The sun was going down, and he wanted to get home as quickly as possible. He always felt like there was something off about this town and hated the dark. Luckily he didn't have to wait too long before his bus screeched to a halt at the bus stop. Most seats were already occupied, and Mason had to take the first available seat next to a grandmother-type. He was trying to push out the heavy feeling in his stomach. He knew he couldn't stay mad at Liam forever; they had to talk. Suddenly he bolted up and rushed towards the door of the bus. "Sorry," he told the bus driver, "I gotta go." The bus driver pulled a lever that allowed Mason access outside. He started speed walking back towards the lacrosse field. As he saw players leaving that area, he broke into a light jog. He stopped at the bleachers, breath coming out in light puffs. The field was empty. Guess all that was for nothing. He'd just call Liam later.

"I thought you'd left."

Mason turned his head to the direction of the sound. Liam stood next to the bleachers with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, his face full of surprise. Mason broke into a smile. "I, uh…" he trailed. "Where's Kelly?"

"I wasn't in the mood for burgers anymore so she went home, I guess." There was a moment of silence before the boys started talking simultaneously. "I'm sorry," they said at the same time. They both started chuckling.

"Me first," Liam said. "I've been hiding something from you and I've been pushing you away. I'm sorry for that, but now I think you should know." Liam held out his hands and closed his eyes, as if concentrating. Mason watched curiously and expectantly. Was Liam about to perform a magic trick? Is that what he'd been hiding – he'd taken up magic tricks and wasn't able to hang out anymore due to the undeniable shame and pressure of practicing. Well, if it was a magic trick, it was working well. Right before Mason's eyes, bulky yellowed claws grew in place of Liam's fingers and unruly facial hair sprouted instantaneously. When Liam opened his eyes, they were no longer the cool blue Mason was used to seeing; they were an unnatural golden color.

"I'm a werewolf now," Liam said. Mason stared on with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"Huh?"


End file.
